5 real dream cars that were killed before production

The Pontiac Banshee was a two-seat sports car that came with an advanced SOHC straight-six or a meaty V8

PHOTO: Supplied, FWAllWallpapers

The wild AMX/3 was a supercar that nearly made it to production. Encroaching government regulations killed this one before it even had a chance

PHOTO: Supplied, Ultimate-Car-Page

The Dodge Super Charger looks more like a racing boat than a car when viewed from above

PHOTO: Supplied, DPCars

This wild single seater was build to break speed records and produced 850 horsepower from a 2.3 litre four-cylinder

PHOTO: Supplied, Wikipedia

The first Ford to be called a Mustang was this diminutive roadster powered by a 1.5 litre V4

PHOTO: Supplied, Orlando Sentinel

These cars ran and drove, but never reached dealer lots

By Clayton Seams

Originally published: April 11, 2014

SMALL

MEDIUM

LARGE

Turning a concept car into a production car is a huge process. It takes months of design work, focus groups and engineering to produce a car that can be sold. Sometimes, this process can take years. The majority of ideas will fail to become reality, and few even get to the modelling stage. But some cars, like the group we’ve assembled here, make it all the way to the prototype stage before being shut down. They run, drive, and look good doing it, but these cars never made it to showrooms.

Pontiac Banshee I

The Pontiac Banshee was a two-seat sports car that came with an advanced SOHC straight-six or a meaty V8Supplied, FWAllWallpapers

The Pontiac Banshee I was the two-seater sports car that Pontiac never produced. Smaller and lighter than the Corvette by 227 kg, the Banshee could give the Corvette a run for its money. Unfortunately, that’s the main reason that the Banshee never saw production. GM feared that the Banshee would cannibalize Corvette sales and the project was scrapped after just two prototypes were built. Potential engines included Pontiac’s advanced belt-driven SOHC straight-six and meaty V8’s ranging from 5.3 to 6.9 litres. Situated halfway between a Firebird and a Corvette, the Banshee is a tantalizing what if.

AMC AMX/3

The wild AMX/3 was a supercar that nearly made it to production. Encroaching government regulations killed this one before it even had a chanceSupplied, Ultimate-Car-Page

During the 1950s and ’60s, AMC was a brand famous for its staid designs and general frumpiness. If you remember how stodgy Volvo was in the early 1980s, then you have an idea. But the high-octane arms race that was the muscle car era brought AMC out of its shell. The AMX/3 is probably the most radical AMC concept ever and it came very close to production.

The AMX/3 was powered by a burly 6.4-litre V8 mounted midship and used a four-speed manual transaxle. The AMX/3 bears a resemblance to the DeTomaso Pantera when viewed from certain angles and is a striking design even today. After sinking $2-million into the project, ($12.3-million in today’s money) AMC cancelled development due to looming bumper and emissions laws that would make the car impossible to produce. AMC built five prototypes and all survive today including an additional car that was built from spare parts.

Dodge Super Charger

The Dodge Super Charger looks more like a racing boat than a car when viewed from aboveSupplied, DPCars

While most of the cars on this list were built with the intention of eventual production, the Dodge Super Charger was built purely as a concept. It appears to be the product of a design study in wretched excess. A 7.2-litre V8 lives under the Super Charger’s long hood and it produces an impressive 375 horsepower.

The Super Charger might be the least space-efficient vehicle of all time. Its massive 5.7-metre length includes seating for just two occupants and has no trunk at all. The fact that the Super Charger has no exterior door handles or a roof of any kind made it slightly less than practical. Although with a 10-inch windshield you could probably just drive under parking garage arms to save money.

Ford Mustang I

The first Ford to be called a Mustang was this diminutive roadster powered by a 1.5 litre V4Supplied, Orlando Sentinel

The Mustang is the original Ponycar and it turns 50 this April. But while many are familiar with the early Mustangs, few know that the Mustang name was first applied to a quirky two-seat sports car. Intended to compete with the Chevrolet Corvair Monza, the Mustang I featured a complex tubular frame to house a bizarre 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine. Not exactly muscle car stuff.

Eventually, logic took the reigns and it was decided that a more basic four-seater car derived from the Falcon chassis would more suitably cater to young North Americans. One prototype of the Mustang I was built and today it can be found in the Henry Ford Museum.

Oldsmobile Aerotech I

This wild single seater was built to break speed records and produced 850 horsepower from a 2.3 litre four-cylinderSupplied, Wikipedia

Long before there was a Veyron, an Oldsmobile hit a no-typo 447 km/h (278 mph) with a 2.3-litre engine. The Oldsmobile Aerotech was a highly specialized single-seat top speed machine that used a carbon fibre body and two massive turbos to achieve otherworldly performance. The Aerotech weighed just 725 kilograms and could blast the quarter-mile in a mind-bending 8.1 seconds according to GM.

The Aerotech was an extreme car and there were no real plans for it to be sold to the public. Some technology from the car did end up trickling down to other Oldsmobile models, but one has to wonder what it would be like if Olds had managed to sell a de-tuned two-seater Aerotech to the public. Would it be faster than a Bugatti EB110?